The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s declaration that Wanita UMNO chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was not involved directly in the awarding of the scandal-ridden National Feedlot Corporation project to her family has irked two PKR leaders who led revelations of financial wrongdoings in the company.

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli and its Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin questioned whether MACC had hauled up prime minister Najib Razak over the matter before making the conclusion.

They reminded that Najib chaired the High Impact Tender committee which awarded the project under the National Feedlot Centre to the inexperienced NFC, saying the act could be classified as corruption.“One of the links between Najib as the committee chairman and NFC was Shahrizat’s family ties with NFC and the political ties between the duo,” they added.

MACC operations evaluation panel chairman Hadenan Abdul Jalil earlier announced that its investigation into Shahrizat’s involvement in the NFC scandal found that she was not involved in the process of awarding the RM250 million loan, which later was discovered to be spent on personal expenditure and property investments made under individual names.

Rafizi and Zuraida meanwhile questioned why Najib had not been called by the MACC during its investigation.

“In fact, we are curious why we are not called for investigation when we are the ones at the forefront of the revelation surrounding the NFC scandal” they said, adding that the public was convinced about corruption in NFC.- harakahdaily

MACC clears Shahrizat of NFC contract, loan award...

Former women and family development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
has been cleared of having had a hand in awarding the multi-million
ringgit National Feedlot Centre project to her family members.

"We
found that Shahrizat was not involved in the process - in awarding the
project to the company and the RM250 million loan," Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) operations review panel chief Hadenan
Abdul Jalil said today.

National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) has been accused of mismanaging the loan.

Shahrizat’s husband Mohamed Salleh Ismail is the company’s chairperson with her children its directors.Speaking on the matter briefly, Hadenan said the panel has decided to wrap up the matter.

Shahrizat
relinquished her ministerial post on the expiry of her senatorship on
April 8, but decided to continue as the Wanita Umno head and Wanita
Barisan Nasional (BN) head.

She has repeatedly claimed she had nothing to do with the controversies surrounding the company and its management of the loans.

The
project, meant to reduce Malaysia’s dependence on beef imports,
received a negative assessment in the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 as
being very far off-target.

NFC has also been accused of abusing
its govrenment soft loan for the cattle breeding and beef supply project
on purchases unrelated to the project.

In March, Salleh, 64, was
finally charged with misappropriating RM9,758,140 to fund the purchase
of two condominiums at 'One Menerung' in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

source:malaysiakini

Cannon
- Shahrizat's family could not have secured this sweet-heart deal of
RM250 million, if not for her position as head of Wanita Umno and a
cabinet minister.

Considering this so-called loan was awarded, without
any tendering. to her family who knows beans about cattle rearing. If
this is not political influence, what is? MACC can clear her, but not
the court of public opinion.

A
highly-classified document - the Royal Malaysian Navy's evaluation of
the Scorpene-class submarines to be purchased by the government - were
allegedly "bought" by a French defence company.

French lawyer
Joseph Breham, who is acting on behalf of human rights NGO Suaram,
revealed that the company paid 36 million euro (RM142 million) to
Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd, ostensibly for "commercial engineering" works.

Breham (right)
said French investigative judges probing the case lodged by Suaram
against Paris-owned shipmaker DCNS for alleged corruption inquired what
those payments were for and demanded reports of financial transactions
from the company.

"They (the inquiry judges) were given
information that is already available in the Internet and newspapers,
except for this one document," Breham told a press conference in Bangkok
yesterday.

"It was a secret document by the Malaysian Navy - an
evaluation for the order of the submarines, which is a highly
confidential report," he told journalists at the Foreign Correspondents
Club of Thailand.

Breham, who based his expose on the French
prosecution papers, said the act of "selling" top secret papers to a
foreign country such as this is considered treason.

In France,
he stressed, it would be absolutely illegal to sell such reports as it
could either be considered a breach of defence secrets or high treason."It's
treason because you are selling to a competitor or a foreign country
what you think about a specific weapon, and your plan on how to use this
specific weapon," replied Breham, when asked by a journalist if it was
legal for an individual to sell such reports.

"In France, if you
release them (secret documents), you can be punished with up to 10
years in jail," said Breham, who is with Sherpa, a non-profit legal and
human rights NGO based in Paris, which is representing Suaram in the
legal action.Najib can be arrested by Interpol

Hong Kong-based Terasasi had been accused of funnelling money through its accounts to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as "commissions" for the sale of the submarines.

The submarines were purchased from the French company Thales
International, also known as Thint Asia, in a deal inked in 2002 when
Najib was deputy prime minister and defence minister.

Thales is
an off-shoot of French defence giant DCN, which later changed its name
to DCNS, a company facing legal charges filed by Suaram in 2010. The
case recently opened for hearing in the French court.

Two Terasasi directors are Najib's close ally Abdul Razak Baginda and his father Abdul Malim Baginda.

In 2006, Razak, together with two of Najib's former bodyguards were
charged with the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, but
the political analyst was acquitted without his defence being called.

Najib (left),
who has refused to comment on the matter, has also denied ever being
involved in the scandal, but Breham has reiterated that the PM cannot
avoid testifying in a French court if he is either subpoenaed or issued
with a warrant of arrest by Interpol.

Breham said it was
possible that Thales decided to pay the money to obtain the classified
documents so that it could better its bid for the project, and this
meant "paying someone to commit an offence".

The other
possibility, he added, is that the French company had paid the
commission to channel money to ruling party Umno or to high-ranking
individuals in Malaysia, as already revealed in French prosecution papers.

Breham said that this "demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt" that the
French counterparts knew the money was illegal and should not be paid,
and that it would go to top Malaysian officials.

He added that
the money, whether legal or illegal, was paid to individuals "for no
forseeable reasons" when it could have been put to better use.

"To put it blunt and clearly - if the money had not been paid to
high-ranking officials, it could have been used to allow Malaysians to
pay less taxes for the same services or to have much more services for
the same amount of taxes," suggested Breham.

"The Malaysian taxpayers are the first casualties in this case," he added.Selling nation's secrets a crime

Meanwhile, Subang parliamentarian R Sivarasa, who was at the Bangkok
press conference, said the expose on the top secret document being sold
to a foreign country could land a person in jail.Sivarasa (right),
who is also a lawyer, said anyone familiar with the Malaysian legal
system knows that the country has the toughest official secrets
legislation.

In terms of the broad scope of the law, he added, the
breach of any official secret document or publication is punishable
with a mandatory jail sentence.

"These documents - as mentioned
by Breham - fall into the highest category of official secret documents
as it has implications for the security of the country," said the PKR
leader.

"Without any question, it is a criminal offence (to sell
the documents to a foreign company). There have been people who went to
jail for revealing far less innocous documents," he added.

Magoomba - How on earth can Navy Confidential Docs be in the hands of a $2 HK Co in the first place? Air Force jet engines in Argentina. Can we hear more!!!

Truly Patriotic - Now that there is an allegation that a nation's top secret (military) docs have been sold, can't wait to see how speedy those relevant authorities - MINDEF, PDRM, MACC, etc, etc - would jump into action?

Freemsia - UMNO Govt refuse to reveal the details of the transaction on the acquisition on arms to the public on the pre-text that it will jeopardise national security. And now, we have govt-linke Terasasi selling secret documents from Msian Navy to a French defense company.

NX After - RPK's exposure on Azmin, the idots in MACC wanted to take action and the govt machinery started to roll to attack Anwar and Azmin. NOW with this allegation can the same goons spring into action. I guess not because this people are the traitors to the malay race and to the nation. Mampus Umno untuk menyelamatkan negara.

Anonymous_3f4a - How did a Hong Kong company obtain such highly classified documents of the Malaysian Navy without any insiders' help? No wonder, even jet engines can be illegally removed from Sg Besi air base, escaped the detection of the customs and ports authorities before making its way to third countries. What sorts of security apparatus do we have in our country? It's frighteningly horror to be given such a glimpse of the intimate workings of the high offices of the Malaysian govt.

Disbarred lawyer N Pathmanaban told the High Court today he had not forced millionaire entrepreneur Sosilawati Lawiya to sign a letter two years ago authorising him to withdraw RM3 million from her account with his firm.

Pathmanaban, one of four people charged with murdering her and three others, also denied having prepared the letter on Aug 30, 2010 and backdating it to Aug 11.

The letter was said to be from a company owned by Sosilawati, Southern Symphony Sdn Bhd, allegedly authorising Pathmanaban to withdraw the sum from its account with his firm.

He disagreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff's suggestion that he had taken the letter to Sosilawati and beaten three other individuals who were with her in order to compel her to sign it.

Pathmanaban also denied having ordered Sosilawati and three others to be killed in front of him.

They are alleged to have committed the offence at Lot 2001 Ladang Gadong, Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat in Banting between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30.Questioned by Ishak, Pathmanaban said the letter did not bear the Southern Symphony letterhead.

"She was in my office. She didn't bring her company letterhead," he said.

Asked about calls he had received from Sabari Misran, the personal assistant to Dengkil assemblyman Suhaimi Mohd Ghazali, Pathmanaban said only Sabari would be able to confirm the conversations.

Pathmanaban had testified on Tuesday, that Sabari had called him on Aug 30 to ask him to attend an arranged meeting between Sementa assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil and Sosilawati.

Pathmanaban had said he had excused himself from the meeting and was in Subang Jaya on the night of Aug 30.

He denied a suggestion that his meeting with Mohamad Jamil Mohd Hassan, a former Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director, was arranged to create an alibi.

Pathmanaban had also said Sabari had called him at 9.43am on Sept 2 to ask him not to mention the meeting with Abdul Rahman, should anyone ask. He agreed with Ishak that only Sabari could confirm this.

To questions from DPP Saiful Edris Zainuddin, Pathmanaban agreed that the statement for his personal bank account from September 2010 showed he had only RM61,846.85 in it on Sept 9, 2010.

He however denied that he lacked sufficient funds to pay two cheques for RM4 million made out to Sosilawati due on Sept 9.

Under re-examination by defence counsel Manjeet Singh Dhillon, Pathmanaban said he had other funds which would have allowed him to honour the cheques.

30 May 2012

Human
rights NGO Suaram has revealed that the name of an individual closely
linked to former finance minister Daim Zainuddin is mentioned in the
French prosecution papers on alleged corruption in Malaysia’s RM7.3
billion purchase of two Scorpene-class submarines in 2002.

At
a press conference in Bangkok today, Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel
said French police had seized documents including a note for the French
defence minister dated July 2, 1999.

This related to an interview
with then Malaysian defence minister Najib Abdul Razak and
French-Malaysian diplomacy on defence matters.

"The note mentions one Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Noor and Abdul Razak Baginda as points of reference for political network," she said.

"It further states that both have strong political connections as Mohd Ibrahim is close to Daim, and Abdul Razak to Najib.”

She said the note explains that by early 2001, Mohd Ibrahim's influence had begun to decline in tandem with Daim’s waning power.

Mohd
Ibrahim's name then ‘disappeared’ from Perimekar Sdn Bhd - said to have
served as intermediary in the Scorpene purchase - both as shareholder
and director. He was replaced later by those in Abdul Razak's network.

Gabriel
said consultants (company agents) are used as "political network"
agents to facilitate monetary transfers and to receive commissions from
their mandators.

Abdul Razak (left) eventually became the main point of reference for political network to facilitate the money transfer, she claimed.

"The
note stated that ... Abdul Razak maintained excellent ties with the
defence minister and the prime minister. Furthermore, his wife is a
close friend of the defence minister’s wife. Therefore, Abdul Razak
became the centre of the network.

In a document tagged ‘Malaysia’,
there is a confidential report on Perimekar and Terasasi Sdn Bhd -
owned by Abdul Razak and his father - as well as a report that includes a
note on ‘retracing the background of negotiations’, said Gabriel.

The
note states that, pursuant to the major defence contracts between
France and Malaysia, there was a requirement that substantial transfer
of money had to be channelled to individuals and political organisations
like UMNO.

There is a possibility of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi being issued an international warrant of arrest if they fail to adhere to French subpoenas to assist in the Scorpene submarine corruption inquiry.

Suaram’s French lawyer Joseph Breham(left) told a press conference in Bangkok today that the French judges hearing the inquiry have discretionary powers to ask the Interpol to issue a red notice (an international warrant of arrest) against witnesses who failed to submit to the French court.

However this would be the last resort to be undertaken to compel witnesses to testify in Paris.

Breham explained that the French court is able to take on several courses of action, in compelling the Malaysian witnesses.

He said that the judges will first issue a subpoena in writing on a witness, and once a subpoena has been issued, the witness is obliged to appear before the courts and to assist the courts in its works.

“If the witness refuses to abide by the subpoena, the court can issue a notice ‘mandate d ‘amener’, compelling the witness to appear before it.

“If the witness fails to oblige, a warrant of arrest may be issued. The warrant of arrest is applicable within the boundaries of the French territory, and may be internationalised, if the judge deems necessary.

“Based on the judges’ discretionary power, they can ask Interpol to issue a red notice i.e an international warrant of arrest,” he added.

He also said that judge Roger Le Loire, one of the two Instruction Judges assigned to oversee the case, had principally accepted Suaram’s list of seven proposed witnesses, including Najib, Zahid Hamidi and Abdul Razak Baginda.

“Judge Le Loire after hearing an elaborate testimony from Suaram, accepted our statement, and promised to proceed with the inquiry with no stone unturned,” said Breham.

He added that on the acceptance of the seven witnesses proposed by Suaram, the French judge had asked for the full details of the persons involved, in order to begin issuing subpoenas as he saw fit.

Legal obligations

In a statement issued by Suaram after the press conference in Bangkok, the human rights NGO said that Malaysia has legal obligations under the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to cooperate with other nation states in preventing, investigating and prosecuting offenders of corruption.

It added that state parties are bound to render specific forms of mutual legal assistance in gathering and transferring evidence for use in court and to extradite offenders.

Suaram also said that it has gained full privileged access to the 153 investigation papers from the French Public Prosecutor’s office.

“This is a huge step forward, as many of the details kept confidential are now made accessible to Suaram as the civil plaintiff in the criminal case against the DCNS (French shipbuilding company),” it said.

It said that in one document – named Document 97 – was a note for the French Minister of Defense dated June 2, 1999 related to an interview with the Malaysian Defence Minister and the French-Malaysian diplomatic relationships as far as defense is concerned.

“The note states that pursuant to the major defence contracts between France and Malaysia, there is a requirement that substantial transfer of money has to be channeled to individuals and/or political organisations.

“The note specifically states that apart from individuals, the ruling party (Umno) is the biggest beneficiary. Consultants (company agents) are often used as political network agents to facilitate these monetary transfers and to receive commissions from their mandators,” said Suaram’s statement.Wives’ network

It further said that the note mentioned about Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Noor and Razak Baginda as points of reference for political network, while adding that Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Noor was close to the then Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin and Razak Baginda to the then Defence Minister Najib.

“The note also explains that by early 2001, Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Noor’s influence began to decline following the fall from power of the Minister of Finance, Daim Zainuddin which resulted in the disappearance of Mohd Ibrahim Mohd Noor’s name from Perimekar both as shareholder and director which was later replaced by people of Razak Baginda’s network.

“Razak Baginda eventually becomes the main point of reference for political network to facilitate the money transfer,” added Suaram.

Suaram said the note also pointed out that Razak’s wife was a close friend of Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor.

Suaram also said that it was holding its press conference in Bangkok – and not in Kuala Lumpur – following the forced deportation of one of Suaram’s lawyers, William Bourdon, last July when he visited Malaysia to speak about the case.

Suaram’s complaint with the French courts for a judicial review of the Scorpene contract in November 2009 has resulted in the commencement of a judicial inquiry at the Tribunal De Grande Instance in Paris.

The inquiry will probe alleged corruption crimes and illegal bribes involving top officials from both Malaysia and France in the sale of two Scorpene submarines by French shipbuilding company DCNS to the Malaysian Defence Ministry, then helmed by Najib.- FMT

Klang MP Charles Santiago has discovered that the names of 3,457 voters
in his parliamentary constituency have, without reason, disappeared
from the electoral roll since the 2008 general election.“They
were registered voters in the 2008 general election but when you key in
their identity card numbers in the Election Commission (EC) online
database, it says ‘no information’,” he told Malaysiakini after calling a press conference in Klang this morning.

Under
the current laws, only voters who have died, been declared bankrupt,
have had their citizenship revoked or been declared insane can be
removed from the electoral roll, and the reasons for removal will be
stated in every quarterly supplementary roll.However, Santiago (left) claimed that the reasons for their removal from the roll were not stated, and not all of them are elders.

“In our search on the ground, we located several of them. They are still alive and eligible to vote,” he said.

Santiago
and his team also found out that 2,195 voters in Klang have transferred
their voting addresses to other constituencies but their addresses in
the electoral roll still remain in Klang, which is not allowed under the
current regulations.

Since 2002, the EC has make it compulsory
that any voting address must be the same as the voter’s address recorded
in his or her MyKad.

If voters want to change their voting constituencies, they must first change their addresses recorded in their MyKad.

Hence,
for those Klang voters to transfer their voting addresses to other
constituencies, they have to first change their MyKad addresses, which
will be reflected in the electoral roll.- malaysiakini

The PAS spiritual leader said funding for the project would also come from contributions from the people.

"We are confident of implementing this highway project worth RM1.8 billion although not totally through the people's contributions," he told reporters after the highway ground-breaking ceremony in Kampung Berangan Mek Nab, here, yesterday.

Nik Aziz was responding to doubts expressed by some political leaders over the Kelantan PAS government's ability to build the highway which involves a huge cost and describing it as a political gimmick.

His deputy Awang Adek Hussin, said the same yesterday, adding that no state government had built a highway on its own.

"Although there are companies which can afford it, they need to borrow from the banks. Even the Kelantan government is still dependent on the federal government to drive its economy," he told reporters after a luncheon with Kelantan Inland Revenue Board staff.

Meanwhile, state Financial Planning, Economy and Welfare Committee chairman Husam Musa said the 73km highway without toll would solve the traffic congestion problem and expected to be completed in three years.- malaysian mirror

Human rights NGO Suaram will expose more details on its Scorpene legal
suit in Bangkok, Thailand tomorrow, as its lawyer from France has to
date failed to obtain permission to enter Malaysia.

It remains
uncertain when Suaram's France-based lawyer Joseph Breham will be issued
with a work visa to enter Malaysia, and as such the NGO's leaders
decided to travel to Thailand to meet with him.

Brehem (left)
and the Suaram team led by director Cynthia Gabriel and legal
representative Fadiah Nadwa Fikri will later hold a press conference on
new developments in the Scorpene submarine case the human rights group
has filed in Paris.

Gabriel said the press event - at the
Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand tomorrow - is planned to "reveal
further damning details from the initial findings of the prosecutors
and to announce the latest developments surrounding the case".

Breham was to visit Malaysia this week, but his application for a working visa to
enter the country has yet to be approved by the Malaysian authorities,
leading to the decision by him and Suaram to meet in Bangkok.

His colleague, William Bourdon, was deported from Malaysia after he attended a Suaram fundraising dinner in Penang last year.Battle royal of sorts

Gabriel said the press conference would help fill in the vacuum of
information on gross corrupt and illegal practices involved in arms
procurement in the name of Malaysia's national security.

She
said that as Malaysia inched closer toward what is expected to be its
most challenging general election ever, the "political temperature has
escalated to an unprecedented level".This,
she said, would culminate in a "battle royale" of sorts as Malaysians
were gearing for change and prepare to welcome the long overdue
two-party system.

"Climaxing with this heightened scenario is
the sudden commencement of an inquiry on Malaysia, 3,000km across the
seas in France," Gabriel (left) said.

She was referring
to the RM7.3 billion purchase of two Scorpene-class submarines in 2002;
the decision of the French court to hear evidence of alleged bribery of
top Malaysian officials in connection with the submarine purchase; and
the grisly murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu with C4
military-grade explosives in 2006.

Case blackout in the media

Two of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's former bodyguards have been
convicted for the murder of Altantuya and they are now awaiting their
appeal, which is slated to be heard in August.

Najib's close
ally and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged with
abetting in her murder, was acquitted without his defence being called.

Najib (right),
who has refused to comment on the matter, was defence minister when the
submarine deal was inked, but has denied any involvement in the case.

"The growing links among the three parties spell big headaches for the
ruling administration, and especially for Najib, whose role in the
entire scandal could bring a damning outcome to his political future,"
Gabriel said in an advisory sent out to the press yesterday.

"Despite an almost 100 percent blackout in Malaysia's mainstream media,
the Internet is running riot with the story, and at full throttle," she
added.

"It is piling up the challenges for Najib and his men as
they face one of the fiercest electoral battles in Malaysia's history."- malaysiakini

PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli has claimed that a significant proportion of land to be leased to Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) for its listing plan is in fact Malay reserve land.

"Our
research shows that, of the 847,362 acres of land to be leased
nationwide, a total of 105,382 acres have been gazetted as Malay reserve
land," he told a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling
Jaya this afternoon.

This, he said, was based on the agreement signed between Felda Plantation Bhd which previously held the land and FGVH.

"The
Malay reserve land was created to ensure bumiputera ownership. If any
land is taken up by non-bumiputeras, it must be replaced with other land
of the same size as Malay reserve land," he said.

However,
Rafizi claimed that the deal had used a "back door" method in which the
land ownership and status will remain, but FGVH will be given a 99-year
lease to manage the land.

"The 99-year lease is akin to
transferring the ownership of the land (as) FGVH will not only include
bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras, but also foreigners," he said, noting
that this would violate the spirit of allocating Malay reserve land.

PKR
investment and trade bureau chief Wong Chen, who was at the press
conference, said despite Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's promise that
the FGVH initial public offering (IPO) will benefit Felda settlers,
wealthy bumiputeras will be the main beneficiary.

According to
the draft prospectus, he said, Felda settlers are only allocated 2.5
percent of the shares offered, compared to 11.5 percent allocated to
bumiputera investors approved by the International Trade and Industries
Ministry (Miti).

"Have these investors ever contributed to the
development of Felda? We do not know who they are but according to Miti
guidelines, it is only limited to the wealthy," he said.

'Wealthy will benefit'

Wong
said this is based on the guideline that an investor who wants to buy
RM250,000 worth of shares or below must hold RM3 million in individual
assets or RM10 million in company assets.

"We also demand that
Miti reveals (the identity of) these wealthy bumiputera who will receive
FGVH shares... As this is of national interest, we believe that the
public deserves to know if they are linked to Umno," he said.

Even
Felda staff, who number far less than settlers, have been allocated 3
percent of the shares, compared to 2.5 percent for settlers, he said.

On
average, the 3,835 Felda staff will be allocated 28,368 shares each, or
35 times higher than the 810 shares for each of the 112,635 settlers.

"The
way the shares are being allocated appear (to show) that the prime
minister is only interested in helping the wealthy,” added Wong.

"We
challenge Najib to withdraw the shares for wealthy bumiputeras and
allocate these to the settlers, as well reduce the shares for Felda
staff in favour of the settlers.”- malaysiakini

28 May 2012

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that current Prime Minister
Najib Abdul Razak should not call for polls before the Aidilfitri
celebrations.Mahathir said that this was necessary to shore up
support because Najib had inherited a "weakened" BN from its previous
leader Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Being weak, he has to respond to
the criticisms... But when you are faced with this problem, anything you
do is not enough," he said.Mahathir said that the best time for Najib (right) to hold polls should be "sometime" in the next five months before year end.

He said this during an interview with Bloomberg, which was published today.

Mahathir
was reiterating suggestions he made in February, also during an
interview with Bloomberg, that the premier should delay polls to win
support, particularly from the Chinese community.

At the time,
Mahathir said that he was confident that Najib would be able to secure a
simple majority in Parliament, without winning two-thirds control.

"If you have the time, use the time to build up support," he said.

Eurozone crisis

On
May 14, Mahathir reiterated his suggestion yet again, brushing off the
possibility that holding polls after Aidilfitri celebrations was bad for
BN because Malaysia might suffer effects of the Eurozone crisis by
then.

Mahathir said that although there is some risk involved, he stressed that the polls should be held "anytime" after Aidilfitri.

During
the interview published today, Mahathir agreed that the slowing
European and North American economic has hurt Malaysia, particularly in
terms of exports.

He also expected China's economy to slow down soon.

"If
there is a slowdown in China we would suffer in terms of losing the
Chinese market... At the same time we may be able to improve the
competitiveness of our products," he said.- malaysiakini

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